Elections 2019

Opinion

More Than 60,000 Addicts Exist In Herat Province

Thirteen percent of the addicts are women, many of whom say they want to recover and return to a normal life.

Counter-narcotics department of Herat province said that more than 60,000 addicts exist in Herat province of which 13 percent are females.

The department said that despite the high number of females addicts in the province there are only three treatment centers for them, which have 150 beds available.

A number of addicted females said they want to recover and return to a normal life.

Mariam is one of those addicted females and it is 15 days since she was admitted for treatment to one of the centers.

Mariam said she has been addicted for the past four years and during that time she had no contact with her relatives and was living with her addict husband.

Now Mariam is regretting her past and wants to recover and return to a normal life.

There are number of women like Mariam who voluntarily, or through their families, are admitted to the center for treatment.

“I used drugs for six years, and because my husband was addicted, I also became an addict,” said Sema, another addict.

Poverty, family problems, social misconceptions and easy access to drugs are one of the root causes of the increase in the number of addicts in the country, especially Herat province.

“Addiction is a mental disorder that causes changes in the behavior of the individual, which is treated physically in the first stage and the next stage is psychotherapy, which forms 90 percent of the treatment of addicts,” said Setara Azizi, head of the addiction treatment center.

Sayed Mohammad Sadat, caretaker of the Herat counter-narcotics directorate, said they are fully prepared and equipped for treatment of the women and children who want to leave addiction.

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Counter-narcotics department of Herat province said that more than 60,000 addicts exist in Herat province of which 13 percent are females.

The department said that despite the high number of females addicts in the province there are only three treatment centers for them, which have 150 beds available.

A number of addicted females said they want to recover and return to a normal life.

Mariam is one of those addicted females and it is 15 days since she was admitted for treatment to one of the centers.

Mariam said she has been addicted for the past four years and during that time she had no contact with her relatives and was living with her addict husband.

Now Mariam is regretting her past and wants to recover and return to a normal life.

There are number of women like Mariam who voluntarily, or through their families, are admitted to the center for treatment.

“I used drugs for six years, and because my husband was addicted, I also became an addict,” said Sema, another addict.

Poverty, family problems, social misconceptions and easy access to drugs are one of the root causes of the increase in the number of addicts in the country, especially Herat province.

“Addiction is a mental disorder that causes changes in the behavior of the individual, which is treated physically in the first stage and the next stage is psychotherapy, which forms 90 percent of the treatment of addicts,” said Setara Azizi, head of the addiction treatment center.

Sayed Mohammad Sadat, caretaker of the Herat counter-narcotics directorate, said they are fully prepared and equipped for treatment of the women and children who want to leave addiction.